Anna-Liisa Talts became the first Estonian woman to sail solo across the Atlantic

On Thursday, Anna-Liisa Talts became the first Estonian woman to sail solo across the Atlantic Ocean, covering nearly 7,500 kilometres — a little over 4,000 nautical miles.

Anna-Liisa completed the race known as the Mini Transat, finishing in Guadeloupe on her 6.5-metre sailboat. “I am happy that I was able to achieve my goal,” said our club member after the challenge. Talts crossed the finish line at 3:20 a.m. local time. Altogether, the two-stage ocean crossing took 18 days, 17 hours, and 20 minutes.

Interview with Anna-Liisa Talts and her father Andres in Estonian TV program Ringvaade: https://jupiter.err.ee/1609847764/ringvaade?t=117

“Many people get an MBA degree; I decided to complete a solo Atlantic crossing,” she explained after finishing 52nd in her class. She brought her boat, Nolita, to the finish in perfect condition. “For me, it was much harder to fight with myself than to take care of the boat.”

“It’s hard to describe what I’m feeling right now. Getting here… it’s so different from everything that happened at sea. It was a long journey, sometimes very difficult, but I also got a lot of sleep!” she admitted. “Honestly, I had no special expectations and it was hard to imagine what it would mean to spend so many days alone on the ocean. But in the end, everything went well — and I did it!”

Talts is now the first Estonian woman to finish this race. “I think it just had to happen. I’m happy about it, but most of all, I hope that in the future others will take on this adventure too,” she commented.

“In Estonia, a few people have sailed in the Mini class before, and I was very curious to learn more about solo sailing. I started talking to them, and quite quickly, when I heard about the Mini community, I realised this was something I had to experience. After two years of qualification races, it was this Mini-class family that fed my desire to take part.”

Talts celebrated achieving her goal. “Crossing the Atlantic was easy. Two years of work for it — that was hard. It felt a bit unbelievable that I was actually here now. I was just so happy to see all the friends in the harbour with whom we accomplished this! And I miss those who are far away right now!”

Her journey began on 21 September in Les Sables d’Olonne, with the first leg finishing in the Canary Islands. In the first days, she struggled with severe seasickness and a broken bowsprit, which left her without two sails. But by the third day, she had adapted, installed a spare bowsprit, and found her rhythm again.

On 25 September, organisers cancelled the first leg due to Hurricane Gabrielle, with gusts reaching 60 knots and waves up to eight metres, prioritising the sailors’ safety. Competitors were directed to seek shelter along the Portuguese coast, where Anna-Liisa, with the help of her father Andres and his spouse Kristi Talts, restored the boat to racing condition and continued on her own to the Canary Islands to be ready for the second stage.

The second and longest leg of the Mini Transat began on 25 October from Santa Cruz de La Palma, with the goal of reaching Guadeloupe in the Caribbean — 2,700 nautical miles or nearly 5,000 kilometres away. Finding suitable trade winds and selecting the optimal route were key to success in the ocean crossing.

Mini Transat is one of the world’s most legendary solo sailing races. It is a journey that begins in France and ends in the Caribbean, lasting two to three weeks. Competitors sail 6.5-metre boats subject to extremely strict safety requirements.

It is a race where human dedication, courage, knowledge, and experience take priority, replacing the capabilities of technology, as participants may not use phones, smart devices, or the internet. For navigation, only paper charts and a simple GPS showing position and manually entered waypoints are permitted.

The Mini class is considered an incubator for offshore sailing, from which today’s most innovative boats and most successful solo sailors have emerged. Qualifying for the Mini Transat alone is a major achievement: each year, only 90 competitors are selected, having collected enough qualification miles and completed the mandatory 1,000-nautical-mile solo sail.

Source: ERR